The South Coast Air Quality Management District has scheduled its fifth working group meeting on the District’s proposed Rule 1304.1 for May 8, 2013.  The proposed Rule would impose substantial new fees for the replacement or repower of electrical generating facilities within the District, by charging developers who obtain air emissions offsets from the District’s…

Yesterday, the California Assembly Committee on Natural Resources passed three bills that would impose new permitting and disclosure requirements on hydraulic fracturing operations. The Committee passed and referred these three bills, AB 288, AB 7 and AB 669, to the Committee on Appropriations.
Continue Reading Committee on Natural Resources Advances Three Bills to Increase Regulation of Fracking

Last week, the UC Berkeley Center for Law, Energy and the Environment released a report recommending increased regulation and further study of the impacts of hydraulic fracturing activities in California on public health and the environment. The report focuses on the potential impacts to groundwater and surface water resources relating to the management of wastewater associated with fracking, but also touches on other environmental and public health issues, such as air emissions and increased demand for water in well completions.
Continue Reading Report Recommends More Stringent Regulation of Fracking in California

On Monday, Assembly Members amended two bills relating to hydraulic fracturing – one increasing the scope of regulated activities and another allowing trade secret protection of related disclosures. Also this week, Senator Pavley’s amended SB 4 passed the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.
Continue Reading Amendments to California Bills Both Weaken and Strengthen Proposed Restrictions on Fracking

A federal judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose ruled that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) failed to fully evaluate the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing operations in granting oil and gas leases for approximately 2,700 acres of land over California’s Monterey Shale Formation. The court concluded that BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by unreasonably relying on a 2006 resource management plan and environmental impact statement governing management of the larger planning area encompassing the leases.
Continue Reading Court Finds BLM Failed to Consider the Impacts of Fracking in Granting Mineral Leases

Last week, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) adopted a rule requiring pre-notification and reporting of air emissions and chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations. SCAQMD regulates air quality in Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The rule arose from a September 2012 symposium on fracking in the South Coast Air Basin, including representatives from the government, industry and environmental groups. In addition to fracking, the rule applies to other production stimulation activities such as gravel packing and acidizing. The rule will go into effect in early June, 60 days after its adoption on April 5.
Continue Reading California Air District Requires Fracking Notification and Disclosures

Last week, California Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson amended the bill she introduced earlier this year to further regulate the management of water produced in fracking operations. The amended bill would also shift the prior focus from regulating fracking wastewater generally as hazardous waste to the regulation of fracking wastewater disposal. Specifically, it would prohibit the injection of any wastewater containing hazardous waste.
Continue Reading Another Bill Revised to Expand Regulation of Fracking Activities

On March 19, the California Attorney General’s office filed a complaint for a validation action against all interested people in the world in Sacramento Superior Court on behalf of the California High Speed Rail Authority (“Authority”).  A validation action is a process granted only to public agencies under California law that permits such agencies to…

This month, California State Senator Fran Pavley introduced significant amendments to her bill to regulate hydraulic fracking activities (SB 4), including a ban on fracking until completion of a study on its impacts and a permit requirement specific to fracking activities.
Continue Reading California Lawmaker Demands Another Fracking Study, Threatens Industry with Moratorium

On March 20, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center 586 U.S. (2013) reversing a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that would have required Clean Water Act permits (CWA) for stormwater running off logging roads. The decision turns largely on deference to EPA’s interpretation…

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